Slender: The Arrival coming to the Wii U next week

Wii U gamers are getting a spooky treat this Halloween. Blue Isle Studios recently announced that its survival horror game Slender: The Arrival will be released for the Wii U in North America on October 22. It will be available via digital download and cost $9.99.

Players who get the game on the Wii U will experience an immersive new gameplay feature, which allows them to use the Wii Remote to control the in-game flashlight, helping them navigate the dark and eerie world of the game.

For those unfamiliar with Slender: The Arrival, the game follows a young woman, Lauren, who goes on a search for her missing friend Kate. Along the way, she gathers clues while fleeing from mysterious pursuers - primarily the faceless, business suit-clad Slender Man character from Internet mythology. But the game also expands on the existing Slender Man mythos, as the press release states:

"Slender: The Arrival brings brand new story elements and extended levels to the world of Slender Man that continue to unfold the terrifying mythos. Players are enveloped in a world of sensory deprivation filled with haunting visions and audio cues that create a healthy dose of tension and paranoia."

To make the game, Blue Isle Studios collaborated with Eric “Victor Surge” Knudson, who first created Slender Man on the Something Awful forums back in 2009, as well as the creative team behind the Slender Man-focused Marble Hornets YouTube horror series (Joseph DeLage, Tim Sutton and Troy Wagner).

While a Wii U release of Slender: The Arrival is exciting, it's hard not to see it as something of an afterthought, given that the game was already released on the PC (2013), PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (September 2014), and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (March 2015). That said, using a Wii Remote to control the flashlight should add an interesting dimension to the gameplay - and maybe some entertainment for onlookers if the player tends to jump or flail around when surprised.